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Greek Drama: Introduction
The art of drama developed in the ancient Greek city-state of Athens in the late sixth century
B.C. From the religious chants honoring Dionysus arose the first tragedies, which centered on
the gods and Greece’s mythical past. In the fifth century, Greek audiences enjoyed the works of
four master playwrights; of these, three—Aeschylus, Sophocles, and Euripides—were
tragedians. The early works focused on the good and evil that existed simultaneously in the
world as well as the other contradictory forces of human nature and the outside world. All three
tragic playwrights drew their material from Greek myths and legends; they each brought new
developments to the art form. Aeschylus, whose Oresteia trilogy examines the common tragic
themes of vengeance and justice, brought tragedy to the level of serious literature. Sophocles
wrote perhaps the greatest tragic work of all time, Oedipus the King. The last great tragedian,
Euripides, questioned traditional values and the ultimate power of the gods. In plays such as
Medea and Antigone, Euripides explores the choices that humans make under difficult situations.
C. M. Bowra pointed out in his book Classical Greece that “Greek tragedy provides no explicit
answers for the sufferings of humanity, but it . . . shows how they happen and how they may be
borne.” Indeed, Sophocles’ Oedipus the King expresses a truly sorrowful course of events and
how one man, though his life is devastated, forges a new identity and learns to live with himself.
The myth of Orestes, as seen in Aeschylus’s Oresteia trilogy and Euripides’ Orestes introduces
other major themes in Greek tragedy, namely justice (divine, personal, and communal) and
vengeance.
Comedy most likely also developed out of the same religious rituals as tragedy. Aristophanes
was the greatest writer of comedies in the early period known as Old Comedy. He used biting
satire in plays such as Birds and Lysistrata to ridicule prominent Athenian figures and current
events. Later comedy relied less on satire and mythology and more on human relations among
the Greek common people.
Greek drama created an entirely new art form, and over the centuries, the works of these ancient
Greek writers have influenced and inspired countless writers, philosophers, musicians, and other
artists and thinkers. Greek drama, with its universal themes and situations, continues to hold
relevance for modern audiences.
An online resource for students
by Leigh T. Denault
| HOME | DRAMA | HISTORY | MYTHOLOGY | PHILOSOPHY | LINKS | BIBLIOGRAPHY |
Drama: The Greek Theatre and Three
Athenian Tragedians: Aeschylus,
Sophocles, and Euripides
Table of Contents:




The Book of the Ancient Greeks, Chapter XIV: The Greek
Theatre
Aeschylus
Sophocles
Euripides
Note: For English Translations of the Greek Dramas mentioned in this
page, see the Online Books site for Classical Languages and Literature.
The Book of the Ancient Greeks, Chapter XIV: The Greek
Theatre
Selections from: Mills, Dorothy. The Book of the Ancient Greeks: An
Introduction to the History and Civilization of Greece from the Coming of
the Greeks to the Conquest of Corinth by Rome in 146 B.C. New York:
G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1925. Transcription Copyright © 2003 Leigh T.
Denault.
The Greek drama began as a religious observance in honour of
Dionysus. To the Greeks this god personified both spring and the
vintage, the latter a very important time of year in a vine-growing
country, and he was a symbol to them of that power there is in man of
rising out of himself, of being impelled onwards by a joy within him that
he cannot explain, but which makes him go forward, walking, as it were,
on the wings of the wind, of the spirit that fills him with a deep sense of
worship. We call this power enthusiasm , a Greek word which simply
means the god within us.
From very early times, stories of his life were recited at the religious
festivals held in honour of Dionysus, and then stories of other gods and
of the ancient heroes were told as well. It was from these beginnings
that the drama came. Originally, the story was told in the form of a
song, chanted at first by everyone taking part in the festival, and later
by a chorus of about fifty performers, and at intervals in the song the
leader would recite part of the story himself. By degrees the recitation
became of greater importance than the song; it grew longer, and after a
time two people took part in it and then three; at the same time the
chorus became smaller and of less importance in the action of the
drama, until at last it could consist of only fifteen performers.
A Greek drama was in many ways much simpler than a modern drama.
There were fewer characters, and usually only three speaking actors
were allowed on the stage at once. There was only one story told and
there was nothing to take the attention of the audience away from this.
The Chorus, though it no longer told the story, was very important, for
it set the atmosphere of the play, and lyrics of haunting loveliness
hinted at the tragedy that could not be averted, because of terrible
deeds done in the past, or if, indeed, there might be any help, the
imagination was carried forward on wings of hope. The Chorus also
served another purpose. In the modern drama, when the tragedy of a
situation becomes almost too great for the audience to bear, relief is
often found in some comic, or partly comic, episode which is introduced
to slacken the tension. Shakespeare does this constantly. But comic
episodes were felt to be out of place in a Greek drama, and therefore
when a tragic scene had taken place, the Chorus followed it by a song of
purest poetry. In one play of Euripides, a terrible scene of tragedy was
followed by a song in which the Chorus prayed for escape from such
sorrows on the wings of a bird to a land where all was peace and
beauty. They sang:
Could I take me to some cavern for mine hiding,
In the hill-tops where the Sun scarce hath trod;
Or a cloud make the home of mine abiding,
As a bird among the bird-droves of God.
And the song goes on the carry the imagination to a spot
Where a voice of living waters never ceaseth
In God's quiet garden by the sea,
And Earth, the ancient life-giver, increaseth
Joy among the meadows, like a tree. (Euripides: Hippolytus , translated
by Gilbert Murray.)
In the great Greek dramas, the Chorus is a constant reminder that,
though they cannot understand or explain them, there are other
powers in the world than the wild passions of men.
The great dramatic festival of Athens was held in the spring in the
theatre of Dionysus, to the south-east of the Acropolis. The theatre in
Athens never became an everyday amusement, as it is today, but was
always directly connected with the worship of Dionysus, and the
performances were always preceded by a sacrifice. The festival was only
held once a year, and whilst it lasted the whole city kept holiday.
Originally, admission to the theatre was free, but the crowds became so
great and there was such confusion and sometimes fighting in the rush
for good seats, that the state decided to charge an admission fee and
tickets had to be bought beforehand. But even then there were no
reserved seats, except for certain officials who sat in the front row. In
the time of Pericles, complaints were made that the poorer citizens
could not afford to buy tickets, and so important was the drama then
considered, that it was ordered that tickets should be given free to all
who applied for them.
An Athenian audience was very critical, and shouts and applause, or
groans and hisses showed its approval or disapproval of the play being
acted. Several plays were given in one day, and a prize was awarded to
the best, so the audience was obliged to start at dawn and would
probably remain in the theatre until sunset. Let us go with an Athenian
audience and see a play which was first performed in the latter half of
the fifth century B.C.
Theatre at Epidaurus
The theatre is a great semi-circle on the slope of the Acropolis, with
rows of stone seats on which about eighteen thousand spectators can
sit. The front row consists of marble chairs, the only seats in the theatre
which have backs, and these are reserved for the priests of Dionysus
and the chief magistrates. Beyond the front row, is a circular space
called the orchestra, where the Chorus sings, and in the centre of which
stands the altar of Dionysus. Behind the orchestra, is the stage on which
the actors will act, at the back of which is a building painted to look like
the front of a temple or a palace, to which the actors retire when they
are not wanted on the stage or have to change their costumes. That is
the whole theatre and all its stage scenery. Overhead is the deep blue
sky, the Acropolis rises up behind, and the olive-laden hills are seen in
the distance. Much will have to be left to the imagination, but the very
simplicity of the outward surroundings will make the audience give all
their attention to the play and the acting.
When the play begins, there will only be three actors on the stage at
once. They will wear very elaborate costumes, and a strange-looking
wooden sole called a cothurnus or buskin, about six inches high, on
their shoes, to make them look taller and more impressive, and over
their faces a curious mask with a wide mouth, so that everyone in that
vast audience will hear them. [Note: Scholars today do not believe that
the masks worn in Greek drama were used as "megaphones." The
acoustics in Greek ampitheatres were excellent and the wide mouths of
the mask were only intended to allow clear speech, not to amplify
sound. Rather, the exaggerated expressions on the masks were part of
the stylized "look" of Greek theatre, a style that combined ritualized
exaggeration with simplicity to better convey the sense of the drama to
a large audience. -- Leigh T. Denault] There will be no curtain and the
play is not divided into different acts. When there is a pause in the
action, the Chorus will fill up the time with their song. If it is a tragedy,
we shall not see the final catastrophe on the stage, but a messenger will
appear who will give us an account of what has happened. All this is
very different from the way in which a modern play is given, but some
of the greatest dramas the world possesses were written by Athenian
dramatists and acted on this Athenian stage more than two thousand
years ago.
On this occasion the play we are to see is "Iphigenia in Tauris," written
by Euripides, one of the greatest of the Athenian dramatists.
The legends and traditions from which most of the Greek plays took
their plots were, of course, well known to the Athenians. They were
stories commemorating some great event, or explaining some religious
observance, but naturally these legends were differently treated by
different dramatists, each of whom brought out a different side of the
story to enforce some particular lesson which he wished to bring home
to the people, and this is especially true of legends like that of Iphigenia
connected with the Fall of Troy.
In the opening speech of this play, Iphigenia very briefly tells her story
up to the moment when the play begins. Just as the Greeks had been
ready to sail for Troy, they were wind-bound at Aulis. The wise men
were consulted as to the meaning of this, and how the gods who must
in some way have been offended, might be appeased, so that fair winds
might send them on their way. Calchas, the seer, told them that Artemis
demanded the sacrifice of Iphigenia, daughter of Agamemnon, King of
Argos, the great leader of the host, and her father sent for her
accordingly. The maiden was at home with her mother, and the
messenger who was sent to Argos to bring her was charged to say that
he father desired to wed her to the hero Achilles. She came and the
sacrifice was offered, but at the supreme moment, Artemis carried
Iphigenia away and placed her in the land of the Tauri, a wild and
barbarous tribe, as their princess. These Tauri had an image of Artemis
in a temple, to which they sacrified all strangers who were cast on their
shores, sacrified all strangers who cast on their shores, and it was the
futy of the priestess to consecrate each victim before he was slain.
Here, performing this rite, Iphigenia lived for more than ten years, but
never yet had a Greek come to this wild land. She knew, of course,
nothing of what had happened at Troy or afterwards; she did not know
that on his return home her father had been slain by Clytaemnestra his
wife, or that Orestes, her brother, had avenged that death by
slaughtering his own mother, after which deed he had wandered from
place to place pursued by the relentless torment of the Furies. Bitter
against the Greeks for having willed her sacrifice at Aulis, Iphigenia says
of herself that she is "turned to stone, and has no pity left in her," and
she half hopes that the day will come when a Greek will be brought to
her to be offered in his turn to the goddess.
In the meantime, Orestes, tormented beyond endurance by the Furies,
had gone to the Oracle of Apollo, to ask how he might be purified from
his sin, and Apollo had told him to go to the land of the Tauri and bring
back to Attica the image of Artemis his sister, so that it might no longer
be stained by the blood of the human sacrifices. And so it comes about
that Orestes is the first Greek who will be brought to Iphigenia for
sacrifice to Artemis. It is at this moment that the play opens.
[ Click here to read a copy of the play Iphigenia in Tauris ]
Aeschylus (c. 525-456 BCE)
The first of the three classical playwrights of 5th-century Athens,
Aeschylus was born near Athens in 525 BCE, in the village of
Eleusis. His father was called Euphorion, and was of noble
descent. As a young man Aeschylus would have been influenced
by two historic events: the exile of Hippias, a dictator, in 510 BCE,
and the establishment of democracy in Athens under Cleisthenes in
508 BCE.
Aeschylus was a soldier in his youth, and took part in the Persian
Wars. His epitaph (self-authored as an entry for a contest in 489
BCE) depicts him fighting at Marathon in 490 BCE, a battle which
is considered to be among the most important moments in
Athenian history. At Marathon, the Athenians defeated the
Persians and halted a Persian invasion. His brother, Cynegeirus,
died fighting at Marathon. Aeschylus may also have fought at the
battle of Salamis, a sea battle that defeated an even larger Persian
invasion force.
His first win at the drama festival (City Dionysia) came in 484
BCE, although scholars do not know the name of the trilogy that
won.We do, however, know the name of his winning trilogy for
the festival in 472 BCE -- The Persians -- sponsored by Pericles
himself, then an aspiring politician. The Persians deserves mention
because the play is about the Persian defeat at Salamis, and it was
unusual for the plays at the festival to deal with topics other than
the pantheon of Greek myth. Aeschylus left Athens in 471 BCE to
attend court at Syracuse, ruled by the tyrant Hieron, a famous
patron of the arts. When he returned to Athens for the festival in
468 BCE, a twenty-eight year old named Sophocles, competing for
the first time, won first place over the great Aeschylus.
Popular as he was, the Athenian dramatists often walked a fine line
between innovation and irreverence. Aeschylus was prosecuted for
revealing the mysteries of Eleusis in one of his plays. Although he
was eventually proven innocent, this accusation remained a stain
on his character. Driven from the city by growing social and
political unrest, Aeschylus died far away from Athens, in Sicily, in
456 BCE.
A prolific writer, Aeschylus had written between seventy and
ninety plays by the time of his death in 456 BCE. Only seven of
his plays have survived: Agamemnon, The Libation Bearers , and
The Eumenides (these three plays compose the tragic trilogy
known as The Oresteia ), The Persians, Seven Against Thebes, The
Supplicants, and Prometheus Bound . Some scholars believe that
Prometheus Bound may be wrongly attributed to Aeschylus. Most
of his plays were written for the annual Athenian drama
competition, the City Dionysia, which Aeschylus won thirteen
times. At this festival, three chosen dramatists would perform three
tragedies and a satyr play. The Oresteia is the only complete Greek
tragic trilogy extant today.
Sophocles (c. 496-406 BCE)
Sophocles' work is considered the pinnacle
of Greek tragedy. Born in near Athens in 496
BCE in the town of Colonus, in his ninetyyear lifespan he witnessed the rise and fall of
the Athenian Golden Age. Sophocles was the
son of a wealthy manufacturer. He grew up
during the Persian Wars, and was chosen to
participate in the victory celebrations for the
Greek naval victory at Salamis in 480 BCE,
an honor that suggests that the young
Sophocles was particularly talented and
handsome. Indeed, he is thought to have
performed some of the roles in his early
plays, but was unable to continue as an actor
due to problems with his voice.
Sophocles was popular in Athens, and,
perhaps as a result of the patriotism he
developed as a young man, remained in Athens throughout his life
despite multiple summons from local rulers to visit other cities and
regions. A close friend of Pericles, he held several public offices
throughout his life in addition to being a leading dramatist. Despite
a reported aversion to politics, Sophocles did play a signifcant role
in Athenian social and political life. In his old age he was honored
with an important advisory position in the Athenian government to
help deal with the aftermath of the disastrous military campaign at
Syracuse. His public career seem to have started when he was
elected treasurer of the Delian League in 443 BCE, and general of
the Athenian army in 441 BCE. Under the command of Pericles,
he participated in the military campaign against Samos. Sophocles
was also a founder of the cult of the god Asclepius in 420 BCE, an
activity which may have been connected to the establishment of a
public hospital. He was also the father of two sons, one of whom
went on to become a playwright. Sophocles died in 406 BCE.
Revered by modern scholars for his treatment of the individual and
for the complex issues that his plays address, Sophocles was also
revered by his contemporaries: he recieved the first prize for tragic
drama over Aeschylus at the drama festival (the City Dionysia)
held in 468 BCE, when he was twenty-eight years old. He wrote
around one hundred and twenty-three plays for the Athenian
theatre, and won twenty-four festivals -- he placed second in every
festival that did not win. Only seven of his plays, however, have
survived intact. They are (in the order in which they are thought to
have been written): Ajax, Antigone , The Women of Trachis ,
Oedipus the King, Electra , Philoctetes , and Oedipus at Colonus.
From the fragments remaining, and from references to lost plays in
other works, scholars have discovered that Sophocles wrote on an
enormous variety of topics. He also introduced several key
innovations, including ending the tradition of writing trilogies on
connected topics at the City Dionysia, introducing painted
background scenery, changing the number of speaking actors from
two to three, and enlarging the chorus from twelve to fifteen men.
Euripides (c. 485-406 BCE)
Euripides inclusion among the great Athenian dramatists is sometimes
debated by scholars, who see his plays as irreverent misrepresentations
of the Greek religion, filled with too many unrelated ideas. These
scholars note that while Euripides' plays were included in the drama
festival (the City Dionysia) twenty-two times, he only won five times.
Euripides' supporters claim that he deserves mention along with
Aeschylus and Sophocles because he was bold and irreverent: he was
willing to look beyond religious orthodoxy to critique Greek culture and
religion. Many of the protagonists in Euripides' plays are female, and
through this less-explored perspective he was able to examine wellknown stories in a completely new way. His supporters also point to
Euripides willingness to enter into the psychology of his characters.
Born in Phyle, outside of Athens, legend tells us that Euripides was born
on the same day as the great Greek victory at Salamis in 480 BCE.
Eurpidies took part in the Sophist movement, an intellectual group who
were known for their unorthodox and unsettling views. Eurpidies
himself was apparently a curmudgeon, preferring to do most of his
writing in a secluded cave on the island of Salamis. Unlike Sophocles, he
was not interested in an official position in the Athenian state. He
developed friendships Socrates and Anaxagoras, both unconventional
philsophers, as well as the General Alcibiades. The sophist Protagoras
supposedly recited a treatise that argued against the existence of the
gods at Euripides' house.
Euripides left Athens in 408 BCE at the request of King Archelaus of
Macedon, a famous patron of the arts. Although his reasons for leaving
Athens at such an advanced age are unclear, Euripides' non-traditional,
and sometimes heretical, ideas undoubtedly made him unpopular in the
increasingly unstable Athens. Eurpides was known, for example, as an
opponent of the Athenian democracy that had developed during his
lifetime. Euripides died in Macedon around 406 BCE.
Although we only know eighty of their titles, Eurpides is thought to have
written ninety-two plays, of which nineteen tragedies are extant today.
Unlike Aeschylus or Sophocles, who are represented by only a few of
their works, Euripides leaves a substantial dramatic legacy, including (in
the order in which they are thought to have been written) the Medea ,
Hippolytus , Trojan Women, the Bacchae , and Iphigenia in Aulis .
History: The Golden Age of Athens
Table of Contents:

The Book of the Ancient Greeks: An Introduction to the History
and Civilization of Greece, Dorothy Mills
o Chapter VI: The Growth of Athens
 I. Earliest Athens
 II. The Rule of the Few: The Oligarchy
 III. Solon, The Wise Man of Athens and the Rule
of the Many
 IV: The Tyrants
o Chapter XIV: The Greek Theatre
Plan of Athens
The Book of the Ancient Greeks: An Introduction to the History and
Civilization of Greece
Selections from: Mills, Dorothy. The Book of the Ancient Greeks: An
Introduction to the History and Civilization of Greece from the Coming
of the Greeks to the Conquest of Corinth by Rome in 146 B.C . New
York: G.P. Putnam's Sons, 1925. Transcription Copyright © 2003 Leigh T.
Denault.
Chapter VI: The Growth of Athens
I. Earliest Athens
Athens was the most beautiful city in Greece. It grew up at the foot of
the high rock known as the Acropolis, which in the earliest times was
the citadel that defended the city. The Acropolis had very strong walls,
and the main entrance was guarded by nine gates, which must have
made it almost impossible for an enemy to take, and there was a well
within the fortress, so that there was always water for those who
defended it. But history has told us almost nothing about the mighty
lords who built this fortress or about the life of the people over whom
they ruled.
The Acropolis
But if history is silent, legend has much to say. The earliest rulers of
Athens were Kings, and of these one of the first was Cecrops. All kinds
of stories gathered round his name, and it was believed that he was not
altogether human, but a being who had grown out of the earth and was
half-man and half-serpent. It was when he was King that the contest
took place as to whether Athena, the grey-eyed Goddess of Wisdom, or
Poseidon, Lord of the Sea, should be the special guardians of the city.
The victory was awarded to Athena, who, taking her spear, thrust it into
the ground, whereupon an olive tree marvellously appeared. Poseidon
gave the horse as his gift to Athens, and legend adds that, striking the
rock with his trident, he brought forth clear salt water, which he also
gave to the Athenians. For all time the olive was associated not only
with Athena, but with Attica and Athens her city, and to the Athenians,
the sea became almost like a second home.
The ancient kings claimed descent from the gods. They were not only
the lawgivers, but they acted as judges, as chief priests, and in time of
war as generals. All who were oppressed had the right to appeal to the
judgment seat of the King and his decisions were final. Though the King
was the supreme ruler, there were assemblies of the chief men, always
called the Elders, and of the People, who met whenever the King called
them together. These gathering were important, not because of any
real power they possessed in early times, for they only met to hear
what the King intended to do and never to discuss, but because it was
from these assemblies that the power of the people to govern
themselves developed.
The greatest of the early Kings was Theseus, he who slew the Minotaur
and freed Athens from paying tribute to Minos the Sea-King of Crete.
His greatest claim to be held in the remembrance of his countrymen
was that it was believed to have been Theseus who united all Attica
under the leadership of Athens. Before this time all the towns and
villages in Attica had been independent, but he "gathered together all
the inhabitants of Attica into one town, and made them people of one
city ... and gave the name of Athens to the whole state." (Plutarch: Life
of Theseus ) Legend tells of him that he was good and merciful to all
who were in need, and a protector of all who were oppressed, but he
offended the gods in some way, and died in exile far from Athens. Long
centuries after, Cimon, an Athenian general, took possession of the
island in which it was said that Theseus had been buried. Cimon
had a great ambition to find out the place where Theseus was buried
and by chance spied an eagle on a rising ground, where on a sudden it
came into his mind, as it were by some divine inspiration, to dig there,
and search for the bones of Theseus. There were found in that place a
coffin of a man of more than ordinary size, and a brazen spear-head,
and a sword lying by it, all of which he took aboard his galley and
brought with him to Athens. Upon which the Athenians, greatly
delighted, went out to meet and receive the relics with splendid
processions and with sacrifices, as if it were Theseus himself returning
alive to the city. His tomb became a sanctuary and refuge for slaves,
and of all those of mean condition that fly from the persecution of men
in power, in memory that Theseus while he lived was an assister and
protector of the distressed, and never refused the petitions of the
afflicted that fled to him. (Ibid.)
II. The Rule of the Few: The Oligarchy
It is not known with any certainty how long the rule of the Kings lasted
in Athens, but they seem to have slowly lost their power and at last
other magistrates were appointed to help them rule. The earliest Kings
had been hereditary rulers; when they became less powerful, though
they were no longer the sole rulers of Athens, these hereditary Kings
still kept their offices for life. Later they ruled for life but were elected;
the next change made was to elect a new king every ten years, and at
last the greatest change of all took place when the old office of King was
done away with, and the power that had once been in the hands of one
man was entrusted to three: the Archon, a Greek title meaning ruler,
who was the chief representative of the State and who gave his name
to the year, the King-Archon, who was the chief priest and who had
authority over all the sacrifices offered by the State, and the Polemarch,
or War-Archon, who was the chief general. Six other archons were also
elected whose duty it was to assist the others and to see that the laws
of the State were obeyed.
Not everyone could be an Archon; only men from noble families could
be elected, and so the power passed into the hands of a few men. The
rule of a few is called an oligarchy, and it was the second step the
Athenians took on their way to be a self-governing community.
At first this rule was good, for by experience the nobles learnt a great
deal about the art of governing; they realized that order was better
than disorder in a state, and they set high standards of devotion to
public duty. But the nobles all belonged to one class of people, they
were the best educated and the more wealthy, and instead of using
their advantages of position and education and wealth as a trust for the
good of the whole state (the ideal developed in later years by the
Athenians), they grew to consider these things as their own exclusive
property and they became very narrow and intolerant. They considered
themselves in every way superior to the common people, and began to
make laws with benefited themselves alone, ignoring the rights of
others, especially those of the poor.
Now the nobles had acquired their power because of their opposition to
the rule of one man, but when the authority had been placed in their
hands, they proved themselves equally unable to be just towards all,
and their rule became as intolerant as that of the Kings. Then it was that
their authority was questioned in its turn, and the people began to ask
each other questions. What is the difference, they asked, between rich
and poor, between the noble and the plain man, between the freeman
and the slave? Who, they asked, are citizens, and what does it mean to
be a citizen? The more people questioned, the greater grew the
oppression and the injustice of the nobles, and conditions in Athens
grew very bad. Many things helped to create this spirit of discontent:
there had been wars, the harvests had been bad and famine had
resulted, and there were very harsh laws which allowed debtors who
could not pay their debts to sell themselves as slaves. Quarrels arose,
and more and more the people questioned as to the justice of all this.
They said:
But ye who have store of land, who are sated and overflow,
Restrain your swelling soul, and still it and keep it low;
Let the heart that is great within you be trained a lowlier way;
Ye shall not have all at your will, we will not forever obey. (Poem of
Solon, from Aristotle on the Athenian Constitution , translated by F.G.
Kenyon. By permission of Messrs. G. Bell and Sons.)
III: Solon, The Wise Man of Athens and the Rule of the Many (Except
where otherwise noted, the quotations in this section are from
Plutarch: Life of Solon.)
It was at this time of confusion and distress that Solon, one of the Seven
Wise Men of Greece, appeared. By birth he was a noble, but he was a
poor man and in the early part of his life he had been a merchant. There
came a time later when the merchant was not looked upon as the equal
of the noble, for Plutarch, in writing the life of Solon about seven
hundred years after his death, makes an apology for his having been
engaged in trade:
In his time, as Hesiod says, "Work was a shame to none," nor was any
distinction made with respect to trade, but merchandise was a noble
calling, which brought home the good things which the barbarous
nations enjoyed, was the occasion of friendship with their kings, and a
great source of experience.
Solon enjoyed the experience of travelling and seeing new things, a
delight that remained with him even to the days of his old age, for when
he was old he would say that he
Each day grew older, and learnt something new.
Just before this time Athens had been at war with Megara, a
neighbouring state, over the possession of Salamis, which had formerly
belonged to Athens, an island so near the Athenian harbour that it was
absolutely necessary that it should belong to Athens. But the war had
been long and unsuccessful, and no victory had been gained by either
side. The Athenians were so "tired with this tedious and difficult war
that they made a law that it should be death for any man, by writing or
speaking, to assert that the city ought to endeavor to recover the
island." Solon felt this to be a great disgrace, and knowing that
thousands of Athenians would follow, if only one man were brave
enough to lead, he composed some fiery verses which he recited in the
market place.
I come as a herald, self-sent, from Salamis, beautiful island,
And the message that I bring to your ears, I have turned it into a song.
Country and name would I change, rather than all men should say,
Pointing in scorn, "There goes one of the cowardly, lazy Athenians,
Who let Salamis slip through their fingers, when it was theirs for a
blow!"
On then to Salamis, brothers! Let us fight for the beautiful island,
Flinging afar from us, ever, the weight of unbearable shame. (Poem of
Solon, translated by Leslie White Hopkinson.)
Only parts of the verse have come down to us, but they so inspired the
Athenians that it was determined to make one more effort to regain
Salamis, and this time they were successful. Salamis was recovered, but
conditions in Athens remained as unhappy as before. Solon was now
held in such high honour that we are told, "the wisest of the Athenians
pressed him to succour the commonwealth." He consented, and was
elected Archon in 594 B.C.
The first thing Solon did was to relieve the debtors. He did this by
cancelling all debts and by setting free all who were slaves for debt, and
by forbidding by law any Athenian to pledge himself, his wife or his
children as security for debt. This brought such relief to the state that
the act was celebrated by a festival called the "Casting off of Burdens."
Solon wanted to bring order into the distracted city he loved, for he
held that order was one of the greatest blessings a state could have, so
he set to work to reform the government of the state, to reduce the
power of the nobles and to give justice to the people. "First, he
repealed all Draco's laws," (Draco had been an earlier lawgiver in
Athens), "because they were too severe, and the punishments too
great; for death was appointed for almost all offences, so that in after
times it was said that Draco's laws were written not with ink, but
blood."
Solon reformed the government of the state in such a way, that even
the poorest citizens had political rights. They could not all be Archons,
but Athens, like Sparta and other Greek states, had her general
Assembly of the people, and they could all vote at this, and they could
all take part in electing the magistrates. Whilst recognizing the rights of
the poorer citizens, Solon believed in preserving a certain part of the
power of the nobles, and he arranged the taxation and public services
to the state in such a way that the greater wealth of a man and the
higher his position, the more the state demanded of him, both in
service and money. Solon himself said of these laws:
I gave to the mass of the people such rank as befitted their need,
I took not away their honour, and I granted nought to their greed;
While those who were rich in power, who in wealth were glorious and
great,
I bethought me that naught should befall them unworthy their
splendour and state;
So I stood with my shield outstretched, and both were safe in its sight,
And I would not that either should triumph, when the triumph was not
with the right.
(Poem of Solon, from Aristotle on the Athenian Constitution , translated
by F.G. Kenyon. By permission of Messrs. G. Bell and Sons.)
Solon did not please everyone with his laws, and when
some came to him every day, to commend or dispraise them, and to
advise, if possible, to leave out, or put in something, and desired him to
explain, and tell the meaning of such and such a passage, he, knowing
that it was useless, and not to do it would get him ill will, it being so
hard a thing, as he himself says, in great affairs to satisfy all sides,
bought a trading vessel, and having obtained leave for ten years'
absence, departed, hoping that by that time his laws would have
become familiar.
He stayed away the ten years and then returned to Athens. He took no
further part in public affairs, but was reverenced by all and honoured
until his death.
During his travels, Plutarch tells us that he visited Croesus, the rich King
of Lydia. This visit could never have taken place, for Solon died in
Athens just as Croesus came to the throne. As a matter of fact, Plutarch
knew that quite well, but he says that he must tell so famous a story,
even if it were not true, because it was so characteristic of Solon and so
worthy of his wisdom and greatness of mind, and that it would be
foolish to omit it because it did not agree with certain dates about
which in any case everybody differed!
They say that Solon, coming to Croesus at his request, was in the same
condition as an inland man when first he goes to sea; for as he fancies
every river he meets with must be the ocean, so Solon, as he passed
through the court, and saw a great many nobles richly dressed, and
proudly attended with a multitude of guards and footboys, thought
everyone had been the king, till he was brought to Croesus, who was
decked with every possible rarity and curiosity, in ornaments of jewels,
purple and gold, that could make a grand and gorgeous spectacle of
him. Now when Solon came before him and seemed not at all surprised,
he commanded them to open all his treasure-houses and carry him to
see his sumptuous furniture and luxuries, though he did not wish it; and
when he returned from viewing all, Croesus asked him if he had ever
known a happier man than he. And when Solon answered that he had
known one Tellus, a fellow-citizen of his own, and told him that this
Tellus had been an honest man, and had had good children, a
competent estate, and died bravely in battle for his country, Croesus
took him for an ill-bred fellow and a fool. He asked him, however, again,
if besides Tellus, he knew of any other man more happy. And Solon
replied, saying, Yes, two men who were loving brothers and extremely
dutiful sons to their mother, and when the oxen delayed her, harnessed
themselves to the waggon and drew her to Hera's temple, her
neighbours all calling her happy, and she herself rejoicing; then, after
sacrificing and feasting, they went to rest, and never rose again, but
died in the midst of their honour a painless and tranquil death. "What,"
said Croesus angrily, "and dost thou not reckon us amongst the happy
men at all?" Solon, unwilling either to flatter or exasperate him more,
replied, "The gods, O King, have given to the Greeks all other gifts in
immoderate degree, and so our wisdom, too, is a cheerful and homely,
not a noble and kingly wisdom, and him only to whom the divinity has
continued happiness unto the end, we call happy."
This story is not only characteristic of Solon, but of the Greek spirit. That
spirit did not like the extreme of extravagance and luxury and display,
and it believed that there was glory that money could not buy. The
Greeks who had been rewarded by a wreath of olive leaves had
achieved the greatest success known in Greece. This was once told to a
noble who had come with the King of Persia to invade Greece, and
when he heard it, he exclaimed to the King: "What kind of men are
these against whom thou has brought us to fight, who make their
contest not for money but for honour!" That was the spirit of Greece.
IV. The Tyrants
Athens did not attain her political freedom without a struggle. She
passed from the rule of One man, the King, to the rule of the Few, the
oligarchy, and then through the legislation of Solon to the rule of the
Many, the people. But during this period of change, attempts were
made from time to time by powerful leaders to get the rule entirely into
their own hands. These leaders who wanted to seize the power and rule
alone were called by the Greeks Tyrants . There was always the danger
that such a ruler, with no authority in the state to control him, would
become harsh and oppressive, but this was not always the case. Though
the rule of one man alone is never the best kind of rule, some of the
Greek Tyrants made real contributions to the states they governed.
They were generally well-educated men, who encouraged art and
literature; they were always ambitious men, and they often dreamed of
extending their power beyond the limits of their own state, and though
it was a purely personal and selfish ambition, the efforts at realizing it
brought the Greeks into contact with things which had hitherto lain
beyond their horizon, for in the Age of the Tyrants, no Greek had yet
dreamed dreams or seen visions of empire.
A man was not always successful in his efforts to become a Tyrant.
About forty years before Solon was made Archon, Cylon, a rich
Athenian, of good family and popular as a winner at Olympia, tried to
seize the power. He consulted the Oracle, which told him to make the
attempt at the time of the great festival of Zeus. He took this, as all
Greeks would, as meaning the Olympic Games, so he waited until the
time came for them, and then he and his friends took possession of the
citadel. But it seemed that the Oracle, giving one of those answers of
which the meaning was uncertain, had referred to the festival held in
honour of Zeus near Athens and not to that at Olympia, and Cylon's
attempt was unsuccessful. Some of the conspirators fled, and others
took refuge in the Temple of Athena. Here they were safe, for no one
would dare touch anyone who had placed himself under the protection
of the goddess in her sanctuary. But there was no food or drink in the
temple, and as nobody brought them any, some of them died of
hunger, and Cylon was forced to escape secretly. Then the Archon told
the remainder that if they would surrender, their lives should be
spared. They consented, but not quite trusting the Archon, they
fastened a long rope to the Statue of Athena and held it as they
descended the hill, so that they might still be secure under the
protection of the goddess. Half-way down the hill, however, the rope
broke, and the Archon, declaring that this showed that Athena had
withdrawn her protection, had the men put to death. This was looked
upon as a great crime by the Athenians, for they considered it not only
treachery, but also sacrilege, and it made the Archon many enemies.
These declared that as a punishment for this act a curse would rest on
his and on all his descendents. His family was descended from
Alcmaeon, and so the curse was spoken of as the curse on the
Alcmaeonids, and the enemies of this family always attributed to it any
calamites that happened to the city.
The most famous Tyrant in Athens was Peisistratus. Whilst Solon was
away on his travels, quarrels broke out again, and when he returned,
though he took no active part in affairs, he tried by privately talking
with the leaders of the various factions to restore peace, but he was
unsuccessful. "Now Peisistratus was extremely smooth and engaging in
his language, a great friend to the poor and moderate in his
resentments, so that he was trusted more than the other leaders."
(Plutarch: Life of Solon.) In this way he became very popular, and he
deceived people into thinking that he was only desirous of serving the
state, when in reality he was doing all in his power to further his own
ambition and to become sole ruler of Athens. In order to gain
supporters, he appeared one day in the market place in his chariot,
which was sprinkled with blood, and he himself appeared to be
wounded. On being asked what was the matter, he said his enemies
had inflicted these injuries upon him. One of his friends then declared
that the Athenians should not permit such a thing to happen, and
advised that a bodyguard of fifty men should accompany him to protect
him from any further assault. This was done, whereupon with their
help, Peisistrtus took possession of the Acropolis. But his power was not
great enough to hold it, and he and his followers were driven out of
Athens.
Peisistratus soon returned, however, having thought of a curious ploy
by which he might deceive the Athenians into believing it to be the will
of the gods that he should rule. During a festival, accompanied by a
large number of youths, he entered Athens in his chariot, and at his side
stood a tall and beaitufl woman, dressed as Athena herself and carrying
a shield and spear. The people shouted that the goddess herself had
come from Olympus to show her favour to Peisistratus, and he was
received as Tyrant. But again he wasdriven out by his enemies. He
stayed away ten years, and thenonce more he collected an army and
advanced on Athens. Once more he was successful and entered the city.
This time no one opposed him, he became sole ruler and remained so
until his death some ten years later.
Peisistratus showed himself to be a wise ruler; he improved the city and
brought water into it by an aqueduct, and he built new roads. Along
these roads, especially in placed near springs and fountains, were
placed small statues of Hermes, and on the pedestals under some of
them verses were engraved, perhaps similar to the following lines, to
cheer the traveller on his way:
I, Hermes, by the grey sea-shore
Set where the three roads meet,
Outside the wind-swept garden,
Give rest to weary feet;
The waters of my fountain
Are clear and cool and sweet.
(Written by Anyte, a poetess, probably in the 4th century B.C.,
translated by Sir Rennell Rodd in Love, Worship and Death. )
It was Peisistratus who made the law that men wounded in battle and
the families of those who were killed should be cared for by the state.
He built a new Temple to Athena and made her festival more splided,
and he had the ancient poems of Homer collected and written down, so
that they might be more carefully preserved. But good ruler as he was,
he was still a Tyrant, and during his rule the people were deprived of
their right to govern themselves, but so long as he lived, no one
opposed him.
After his death, his sounds Hippias and Hipparchus succeeded him, but
they forgot that, after all, the could only remain Tyrants if the people
permitted it, and they grew insolent, harsh and overbearing. Two young
Athenians formed a plot to assassinate these oppressors at the next
festival. The day came, and Hipparchus was slain, though Hippias
escaped. The conspirators were instantly seized and put to death, and
Hippias continued to rule alone. He became more and more cruel and
the Athenians were bowed down under his opporession. At last the
Spartans came to their help. They came, because for some time
whenever they sent to Delphi to ask any advice of the Oracle, the
answer always came, "First set Athens free." With this help, Hippias was
driven out and sent into exile.
Athens was free. The rule of the Tyrants was over, and Athens was once
more able to rule herself, to become the state of which, when it was
asked "what shepherd rules and lords it o'er their people?" the anser
could be given, "Of no man are they called the slaves or subjects."
(Aeschylus: The Persians .)
Chapter XIV: The Greek Theatre
The Greek drama began as a religious observance in honour of
Dionysus. To the GReeks this god personified both spring and the
vintage, tha latter a very important time of year in a vine-growing
country, and he was a symbol to them of that power there is in man of
rising out of himself, of being impelled onwards by a joy within him that
he cannot explain, but which makes him go forward, walking, as it were,
on the wings of the wind, of the spirit that fills him with a deep sense of
worship. We call this power enthusiasm, a Greek word which simple
means the god within us.
From very early times, stories of his life were recited at the religious
festivals held in honour of Dionysus, and then stories of other gods and
of the ancient heroes were told as well. It was from these beginnings
that the drama came. Originally, the story was told in the form of a
song, chanted at first by everyone taking part in the festival, and later
by a chorus of about fifty performers, and at intervals in the song the
leader would recite part of the story himself. By degrees the recitation
became of greater importance than the song; it grew longer, and after a
time two people took part in it and then three; at the same time the
chorus became smaller and of less importance in the action of the
drama, until at last it could consist of only fifteen performers.
A Greek drama was in many ways much simpler than a modern drama.
There were fewer characters, and usually only three speaking actors
were allowed on the stage at once. There was only one story told and
there was nothing to take the attention of the audience away from this.
The Chorus, though it no longer told the story, was very important, for
it set the atmosphere of the play, and lyrics of haunting loveliness
hinted at the tragedy that could not be averted, because of terrible
deeds done in the past, or if, indeed, there might be any help, the
imagination was carried forward on wings of hope. The Chorus also
served another purpose. In the modern drama, when the tragedy of a
situation becomes almost too great for the audience to bear, relief is
often found in some comic, or partly comic, episode which is introduced
to slacken the tension. Shakespeare does this constantly. But comic
episodes were felt to be out of place in a Greek drama, and therefore
when a tragic scene had taken place, the Chorus followed it by a song of
purest poetry. In one play of Euripides, a terrible scene of tragedy was
followed by a song in which the Chorus prayed for escape from such
sorrows on the wings of a bird to a land where all was peace and
beauty. They sang:
Could I take me to some cavern for mine hiding,
In the hill-tops where the Sun scarce hath trod;
Or a cloud make the home of mine abiding,
As a bird among the bird-droves of God.
And the song goes on the carry the imagination to a spot
Where a voice of living waters never ceaseth
In God's quiet garden by the sea,
And Earth, the ancient life-giver, increaseth
Joy among the meadows, like a tree. (Euripides: Hippolytus , translated
by Gilbert Murray.)
In the great Greek dramas, the Chorus is a constant reminder that,
though they cannot understand or explain them, there are other
powers in the world than the wild passions of men.
The great dramatic festival of Athens was held in the spring in the
theatre of Dionysus, to the south-east of the Acropolis. The theatre in
Athens never became an everyday amusement, as it is today, but was
always directly connected with the worship of Dionysus, and the
performances were always preceded by a sacrifice. The festival was only
held once a year, and whilst it lasted the whole city kept holiday.
Originally, admission to the theatre was free, but the crowds became so
great and there was such confusion and sometimes fighting in the rush
for good seats, that the state decided to charge an admission fee and
tickets had to be bought beforehand. But even then there were no
reserved seats, except for certain officials who sat in the front row. In
the time of Pericles, complaints were made that the poorer citizens
could not afford to buy tickets, and so important was the drama then
considered, that it was ordered that tickets should be given free to all
who applied for them.
An Athenian audience was very critical, and shouts and applause, or
groans and hisses showed its approval or disapproval of the play being
acted. Several plays were given in one day, and a prize was awarded to
the best, so the audience was obliged to start at dawn and would
probably remain in the theatre until sunset. Let us go with an Athenian
audience and see a play which was first performed in the latter half of
the fifth century B.C.
Theatre at Epidaurus
The theatre is a great semi-circle on the slope of the Acropolis, with
rows of stone seats on which about eighteen thousand spectators can
sit. The front row consists of marble chairs, the only seats in the theatre
which have backs, and these are reserved for the priests of Dionysus
and the chief magistrates. Beyond the front row, is a circular space
called the orchestra, where the Chorus sings, and in the centre of which
stands the altar of Dionysus. Behind the orchestra, is the stage on which
the actors will act, at the back of which is a building painted to look like
the front of a temple or a palace, to which the actors retire when they
are not wanted on the stage or have to change their costumes. That is
the whole theatre and all its stage scenery. Overhead is the deep blue
sky, the Acropolis rises up behind, and the olive-laden hills are seen in
the distance. Much will have to be left to the imagination, but the very
simplicity of the outward surroundings will make the audience give all
their attention to the play and the acting.
When the play begins, there will only be three actors on the stage at
once. They will wear very elaborate costumes, and a strange-looking
wooden sole called a cothurnus or buskin, about six inches high, on
their shoes, to make them look taller and more impressive, and over
their faces a curious mask with a wide mouth, so that everyone in that
vast audience will hear them. [Note: Scholars today do not believe that
the masks worn in Greek drama were used as "megaphones." The
acoustics in Greek ampitheatres were excellent and the wide mouths of
the mask were only intended to allow clear speech, not to amplify
sound. Rather, the exaggerated expressions on the masks were part of
the stylized "look" of Greek theatre, a style that combined ritualized
exaggeration with simplicity to better convey the sense of the drama to
a large audience. -- Leigh T. Denault] There will be no curtain and the
play is not divided into different acts. When there is a pause in the
action, the Chorus will fill up the time with their song. If it is a tragedy,
we shall not see the final catastrophe on the stage, but a messenger will
appear who will give us an account of what has happened. All this is
very different from the way in which a modern play is given, but some
of the greatest dramas the world possesses were written by Athenian
dramatists and acted on this Athenian stage more than two thousand
years ago.
On this occasion the play we are to see is "Iphigenia in Tauris," written
by Euripides, one of the greatest of the Athenian dramatists.
The legends and traditions from which most of the Greek plays took
their plots were, of course, well known to the Athenians. They were
stories commemorating some great event, or explaining some religious
observance, but naturally these legends were differently treated by
different dramatists, each of whom brought out a different side of the
story to enforce some particular lesson which he wished to bring home
to the people, and this is especially true of legends like that of Iphigenia
connected with the Fall of Troy.
In the opening speech of this play, Iphigenia very briefly tells her story
up to the moment when the play begins. Just as the Greeks had been
ready to sail for Troy, they were wind-bound at Aulis. The wise men
were consulted as to the meaning of this, and how the gods who must
in some way have been offended, might be appeased, so that fair winds
might send them on their way. Calchas, the seer, told them that Artemis
demanded the sacrifice of Iphigenia, daughter of Agamemnon, King of
Argos, the great leader of the host, and her father sent for her
accordingly. The maiden was at home with her mother, and the
messenger who was sent to Argos to bring her was charged to say that
he father desired to wed her to the hero Achilles. She came and the
sacrifice was offered, but at the supreme moment, Artemis carried
Iphigenia away and placed her in the land of the Tauri, a wild and
barbarous tribe, as their princess. These Tauri had an image of Artemis
in a temple, to which they sacrified all strangers who were cast on their
shores, sacrified all strangers who cast on their shores, and it was the
futy of the priestess to consecrate each victim before he was slain.
Here, performing this rite, Iphigenia lived for more than ten years, but
never yet had a Greek come to this wild land. She knew, of course,
nothing of what had happened at Troy or afterwards; she did not know
that on his return home her father had been slain by Clytaemnestra his
wife, or that Orestes, her brother, had avenged that death by
slaughtering his own mother, after which deed he had wandered from
place to place pursued by the relentless torment of the Furies. Bitter
against the Greeks for having willed her sacrifice at Aulis, Iphigenia says
of herself that she is "turned to stone, and has no pity left in her," and
she half hopes that the day will come when a Greek will be brought to
her to be offered in his turn to the goddess.
In the meantime, Orestes, tormented beyond endurance by the Furies,
had gone to the Oracle of Apollo, to ask how he might be purified from
his sin, and Apollo had told him to go to the land of the Tauri and bring
back to Attica the image of Artemis his sister, so that it might no longer
be stained by the blood of the human sacrifices. And so it comes about
that Orestes is the first Greek who will be brought to Iphigenia for
sacrifice to Artemis. It is at this moment that the play opens.
Mythology: Greek Gods and Heroes
Table of Contents:
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Achilles
Aeneas
Aeolus
Aphrodite
Apollo
Ares
Artemis
Atalanta
Athena
Circe
Demeter
Eros
Hades
Helios
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Hephaestus
Heracles
Hestia
Hera
Hermes
Jason
The Moirai
Odysseus
Persephone
Perseus
Poseidon
Prometheus
Theseus
Zeus
Aeneas
Aeneas was a hero of Troy, the son of Aphrodite and the mortal
Anchises. He plays a small but important role in Homer’s Illiad. A
favorite of the gods, Aeneas has their protection when he unwisely
enters into combat with Diomedes and Achilles , both famous Greek
warriors. Aeneas was among the few to escape from Troy at the end
of the Trojan War (as prophesied by Poseidon ). Aeneas’ story does
not end there, however. Hundreds of years after the Homeric epics
had become a part of Greek culture, other myths about Aeneas
began to gain currency. These legends told of an epic voyage to the
western Mediterranean, where Aeneas founded cities in Sicily and
Italy. (The Roman poet Vergil’s epic, the Aeneid, deals with this
voyage.)
Aeolus
Aeolus was the keeper and god of the winds. After Zeus
triumphed over the Titans, (an earlier race of gods) he
assigned his brothers, sisters, and relatives tasks in the
realm of Mount Olympos. The winds needed to be
contained and looked after, so that they wouldn't destroy
the earth. Hera put forward Aeolus, as she was impressed
with his steadfast nature. Aeolus was sent to an island
named Aeolia, beneath which ran four deep passages in
which the north, south, east and west winds were locked, to
escape only when Aeolus or another god deemed it
necessary.
Aphrodite
One of the best-known goddesses in modern culture,
Aphrodite was the goddess of love. Born of the foam of the
sea, she came to symbolize passion and lust. She was a
prime example of the anthropomorphic nature of the
Olympian gods, being herself prone to fits of pride and
temper, and drawn to troublemaking. Although given in
marriage to Hephaestus by Zeus , she was well known for
her liasons with other gods and even mortals. Her son, Eros
, took after her in both mischieviousness and iconography.
The Birth of Aphrodite. Early 5th Century BCE. Museo delle
Terme, Rome.
Apollo
Apollo was the god of light, the intellect, the arts, and
healing. He was the son of Zeus and the Titan Leto. Also
heralded as Phoebus, Apollo signifies light, order, and the
sun. The most beautiful of all the gods, Apollo represented
the more rational side of both the universe and man. His
oracle at Delphi, on Mount Parnassus, was revered
throughout the mortal world as a vessel of Apollo's
predictions for the future. Mortals sought the oracle from
vast distances to discover the will of the gods.
Ares
Ares was the god of war, the son of Zeus and Hera . He
loved fighting and to incite war, althought he lost his
courage immediately if he himself was wounded. Followed
by Panic, Terror, and Trembling, and accompanied by his
sister, Eris, and her son, Strife, everywhere Ares walked he
brought death and violence.
Artemis
Twin sister to Apollo and goddess of the hunt and
unmarried women, Artemis vowed to remain chaste.
Attended by her hunting-hounds and nymphs, Artemis
ranged throughout the mortal forests, hunting with her
silver bow. Any mortal man who saw her bathing, or in any
way harrassed her, met with a horrible fate. She changed
one man into a stag and set his own pack of hunting hounds
on him. Like the moon she is often related to, Artemis had
two sides. She was gentle and protective toward women
and their young children.
Atalanta
Atalanta was a mortal heroine of Arcadia, an accomplished athlete
and hunter. She chose to remain a virgin, and claimed that she would
only marry a man who could defeat her in a race on foot. In some
myths, Atalanta would kill her suitors with a spear as she passed
them in the race. The suitor Melanion (Hippomenes in some
versions) won Atalanta in marriage with the aid of Aphrodite, who
gave him three golden apples with which to beguile the heroine into
stopping to collect the treasures. Occupied in seeking the golden
apples, Atalanta lost the race and became Melanion’s wife.
Athena
Athena was the goddess of wisdom, laws and
jurisprudence, arts and crafts, culture, and learning. She
was said to have sprung fully grown and fully armoured
from Zeus' head, who, complaining of a headache, asked
Hephaestus to split his skull with an ax. In all of the myths
but one, Athena had no mother. In the Homeric Hymn-28,
however, Athena was described as the daughter of Metis, a
Titan. Metis, renowned for her wisdom and cleverness, was
fated to have two children: first a girl, and later a boy. The
boy was destined to someday overthrow his father. Upon
learning this, Zeus flew into a rage and consummed the
pregnant Metis. Later, he developed a headache, and here
the divergence among the myths merges. Athena was by all
accounts Zeus's favorite child, and in many ways the most
powerful god on Mount Olympos.
Athena had many facets. She was her father's child in
bravery -- she was the protector of heroes in battle and just
causes in war. But she was her mother's child in her just,
compassionate behavior. She was the patron of the city of
Athens, her gift of the olive tree defeating Poseidon's gift
of the horse in their contest for the city. Athena was a
virgin goddess, but, unlike Artemis , she was equally
compassionate towards both men and women. Her favorite
mortal was a man, Odysseus, whose cunning appealed to
her. In one account, Athena gave Prometheus the fire he
sought from heaven, shielding him until he can escape to
the earth. Athena, unlike the other gods, acknowledged her
mistakes. She accidentally killed her dearest friend, the
mortal Pallas, when she was new to the world, misjudging
her own strength. From that point forward she placed his
name before hers, making Pallas Athena her full name.
Circe
Circe was a sorceress who lived on an enchanted island in
the western Mediterranean, daughter of Helios and Perse.
Odysseus encountered her in Book X of The Odyssey. She
amused herself by turning the reconnaisance messengers
sent by the tactical Odysseus into pigs. Hermes saved
Odysseus himself from succumbing to this fate by
apprising him of the situation, giving him both a magic
flower to resist Circe's magic and a warning not to go to
her bed without first exacting a binding promise to ensure
his own safety. Odysseus was thus entertained by the nowbenevolent sorceress for a year. When Odysseus decided
that he felt homesick again, Circe sent him to the realm of
the dead to question the seer Teiresias, telling him that he
is fated to wander many strange paths before he can return
to Ithaca.
Demeter
Demeter, goddess of the harvest, was Zeus' sister. While many of the
Greek goddesses were "adopted" into Greek religion from other
cultures, the cult of Demeter seems to have originated in Greece. Her
cult was centered on the town of Eleusis, where the Eleusian Mysteries
were held in honor of Demeter and her daughter each year. Demeter
had a daughter with Zeus named Kore. Kore quickly became associated
with, and then merged with, Persephone , a pre-Greek goddess of the
dead.
Demeter was responsible for bringing crops to fruition, both wild
and cultivated. If she did not give her blessing to the earth, famine
and starvation would follow. In the myths, Persephone was
kidnapped by Hades , god of the underworld, to be his queen.
Demeter was so stricken that she disguised herself as an old
woman and wandered the earth, seeking her lost daughter.
Eventually she came to Eleusis, where a local ruler took her into
his home. Zeus, knowing that if his sister was not given aid, the
mortal world would perish, sent Hermes to bargain with Hades for
the return of the sunny Persephone. Hades slyly told Persephone
that she was free to go -- and then gave her a handful of
pomegranate seeds to eat if she was hungry on the way back to the
surface. Persephone ate four seeds, and thus she was bound to
spend four months of the year with Hades in his dark kingdom.
During that period, Demeter was so sorrowful that she allowed the
earth to grow barren and the plants to wither despite the bright sun.
The myth of Demeter explains why the harsh Greek summers
rendered crops and wild plants alike unproductive, and also why
Eleusis was a special place for the cult of Demeter.
Eros
Eros, the god of love and passion, was said in the later
myths to be the son of Aphrodite . In some of the earliest
myths, however, he was considered to be the very first god,
the son of Darkness, or Chaos, who brought light and
order, and therefore life, through love (Theogony, Hesiod).
This idealistic view of love is very different from the erotic
version associated with Eros in later myths. Represented as
the conceited and spoiled young son of Aphrodite, he used
his magical bow and arrows to cause mortals and
immortals alike to fall hopelessly in love. Although he
obeyed his mother, most of his arrows were shot for
personal entertainment.
Hades
God of the dead and king of the underworld, Hades was
Zeus' brother. He rarely left his silent, gray palaces
underground to visit bright Mount Olympos. Hades was
also the god of wealth, for he owned all of the precious
gems and minerals that lay below the surface of the earth.
Helios
Helios, the god of the sun, drove his fiery horses and
golden chariot across the sky each day, bringing day, heat,
and light. Although his own origins are obscure, there is a
myth concerning his son by the mortal Clymene, the boy
Phaëthon. Granted one wish, he chose to drive the chariot.
Phaëthon set fire to te earth in his dipping and diving, until
Zeus was forced to throw a thunderbolt at him to cease the
destruction. Eventually, the earth recovered, and Helios,
deeply saddened by his son's headstrong wish, returned to
his daily task.
Hephaestus
Hephaestus was the god of fire, craftsmen, and the
protector of blacksmiths, son of Zeus and Hera . He walked
with a limp because his father had thrown him over the
palace wall when he sided with Hera in an argument. He
fell for an entire day, and was nursed by a sea goddess until
he could return. The only ugly god, Hephaestus was loved
by both gods and mortals because he was peace-loving and
kind-hearted. A skilled craftsman, he made the furniture
and weaponry to arm and adorn Mount Olympos.
Hestia
Hestia, Zeus' sister, was goddess of the hearth and home,
and the third virgin goddess. Her sole task at Mount
Olympos was to keep the fire burning brightly in the palace
hearth.
Hera
Both sister and wife to Zeus , Hera was the goddess of
marriage and the protector of women. She initally refused
to become Zeus's wife, knowing his reputation for
philandering. But Zeus changed himself into a shivering
little bird and created an enormous thunderstorm, so that
Hera took pity on him and took him into her arms.
However, Zeus continued to woo women, constantly
making Hera furious with jealousy. The myths are filled
with tales of Zeus's infidelity and her ensuing rage.
Hermes
The messenger of the gods, Hermes was the son of Zeus
and a demigoddess named Maia. A mischievious trickster,
Hermes was also the god of thieves, travellers, shepards,
and merchants. With his winged cap and sandals, Hermes
could travel to the ends of the earth in the blink of an eye.
His more serious duty was that of escorting the newly dead
to the underworld. Hermes had two famous sons: Pan, the
god of shepards, and Hermaphroditus, the son of Aphrodite
and Hermes. Hermaphroditus possessed his father's
handsome virility and his mother's beautiful face. In some
accounts, it is said that the nymph Salmacis, upon falling in
love with Hermaphroditus, prayed to be joined with him
forever. Her prayers were granted, and their two bodies
were physicaly united, making the first hermaphrodite.
Hermes of Praxiteles. 4th Century BCE.
The Moirai
The Moirai were the three sisters of Fate. They were the
children of Zeus and the titan Themis. Clotho, whose name
means "spinner", created the thread of life, signifying the
birth of a mortal being. Lachesis, whose name means
"apportioner", measured the thread. Atropos, whose name
means "inflexible", cut the thread, ending the lifespan of
the mortal being. Not even the gods had control over the
Fates, who in some earlier myths were born of Necessity,
greater and more ancient than even the immortals.
Persephone
The daughter of Demeter, a child of sun and laughter. For
her complete myth, see Demeter's entry.
Poseidon
God of the sea, Poseidon had enormous power. Zeus'
brother, Poseidon lived in a palace beneath the ocean.
When he struck the sea with his trident, he could call forth
violent storms, but his golden chariot was able to quiet the
waves again. If he plunged his trident into the ocean floor,
earthquakes rolled out from the epicenter of his rage. His
wife, the sea nymph Amphitrite, and his son, Triton, lived
with him in his undersea kingdom. Triton was half-man,
half-fish, and rode a sea monster with his conch-shell horn.
Athena was often pitted against Poseidon in the myths, a
pairing that perhaps pitted the ideas of human
jurisprudence and wisdom against the elemental chaos of
nature.
Prometheus
Prometheus and his brother, Epimetheus, whose names
mean "forethought" and "afterthought" were two Titans
whose aid enabled Zeus to win his battle against Cronos
and the other Titans. They were given the task of creating
the men and animals. Epimetheus decided that he would
create the animals, while Prometheus set about making the
first man. Epimetheus, however, gave to his creations all of
the useful and beautiful attributes that Prometheus would
have liked to give to man. But all of the swiftness, cunning,
courage, claws, wings, and strength, the very finest gifts,
had been given already. Prometheus was determined to find
a suitable gift for man, greater than the other gifts that Zeus
had allotted.
When Prometheus was chosen by Zeus to determine the
means by which men should give sacrifice to the gods, he
dissected an ox and covered the better parts with the skin
and stomach, to make them appear poor. He created a
second offering, this one consisting of bones, offal, and the
less desirale parts, but covering the pile with fat. Zeus
realized that Prometheus was trying to trick him, but he
chose the poorer portion anyway. Zeus retaliated by taking
from the men the fire they would need to cook the fine
meats witheld from the gods. Athena , taking pity on the
cunning and inventive Titan, showed him how he could
steal the fire back for mankind -- the perfect gift to make
up for his brother's mistake. But she could not save him
from Zeus' rage. First, Zeus created Pandora, and sent her
to earth to marry Epimetheus, where she released all of the
evils into the world. Zeus then punished Prometheus by
chaining him to a rock, where by day an eagle ate his liver,
and by night his flesh grew again so that another day of
torment was possible. Later, he relented and allowed
Heracules to kill the eagle, thus ending Prometheus's
torture.
Zeus
Zeus, god of thunder and lightening, and the king of the
gods, was the son of the Titan queen and king, Rhea and
Cronos. His grandmother, Mother Earth, (Gaea) first bore
the Cyclopes, and then the Titans, to her consort Father
Heaven. Father Heaven thought that the Cyclopes were
ugly as well as fearsome, and he trapped them under the
earth. Gaea was greatly angered by this, and she sent the
Titans to slay Father Heaven, and to bring back her
children. Cronos, the strongest of the Titans, wounded
Father Heaven badly, enabling the Cyclopes to escape. The
Titans made Cronos the ruler, and Rhea, his sister, became
his wife and queen. With his power came corruption, and
Cronos imprisioned the Cyclopes once again. Gaea was
even angrier than before, but she hid it this time, for she
knew that Rhea's child would grow up to overthrow his
father.
Cronos, however, also knew this prophesy. He swallowed
his children as soon as they were born to prevent them
from reaching adulthood and gaining enough power to
defeat him. Rhea was in despair as Cronos swallowed her
first five children -- Hestia , Demeter , Hera , Hades , and
Poseidon . She plotted to save her sixth child from Cronos.
She gave the infant Zeus to Gaea to hide and protect, and
offered to Cronos a stone wrapped in a blanket to swallow.
Zeus grew strong on the isle of Crete, where he drank milk
and honey, and was raised by kind nymphs and protected
by armed guards. His mother, Rhea, visited him often and
told him of the cruelty of his faher, and the necessity that
he be hidden from him. If the baby Zeus cried too loudly,
the guards would beat upon their shields to drown out the
noise, so that Cronos would not hear the baby's powerful
wails and realize that he had been fooled. When Cronos
discovered the trick, Zeus changed himself into a serpent
and Cronos searched for the child in vain. Zeus bided his
time, nursing his hatred for his father and vowing to rescue
his brothers and sisters.
When Zeus was of age, he disguised himself as a menial
serving man in Cronos's great palace. Rhea mixed a potent
poison that Zeus fed to Cronos. The drink caused Cronos to
vomit -- first the stone, and then each of the children that
he has swallowed. Zeus'brothers and sisters vowed their
undying loyalty to their deliverer, and for ten long years
they fought a bitter war against the Titans. Gaea finally told
Zeus the secret to his victory -- if he released the Cyclopes,
they would fight for him and overthrow the ancient race of
gods. In gratitude, the Titans gave to Zeus the thunderbolts,
to Poseidon the trident, and to Hades the magic helmet of
darkness. The three-hundred handed Cyclopes heaved
boulders at the stronghold of Cronos, and the three brothers
used their gifts to win the battle. They punished the all of
the Titans, save for Prometheus and Epimetheus, who had
aided them. Gaea, however, gave birth to one more horror
before the three victorious brothers could rest. It was the
monster Typhon, with hundreds of heads and fire-spouting
eyes. Zeus destroyed it with his thunderbolts.
The three brothers drew lots to see which one of them
should become the ruler of the gods, because they didn't
wish to become evil and corrupt like their father. Zeus won
the sky, becoming the king of heaven and ruler of the gods.
Hades won the underworld and all of its riches, and
Poseidon won the sea. Throughout the Greek myths, the
concept of the gods as a younger race pervades. They are
almost as new as the human beings who worship them, and
there are older forces in the earth that even the gods of
Mount Olympos do not understand.
Philosophy: The Athenian Philosophers:
Socrates, Plato, and Aristotle
Table of Contents:
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Socrates
Plato
Aristotle
Note: For English Translations of the Greek philosophical works
mentioned in this page, see the Online Books site for Classical
Languages and Literature.
Socrates (c. 469-399 BCE)
Born in Athens around 469
BCE, Socrates lived during
the period of the city's
greatest cultural expansion.
Son of a midwife and
sculptor, he was acquainted
with the intellectual elite at
the court of Pericles, ruler of
Athens, despite his plebian
origins. As a young man,
Socrates studied philosophy,
establishing a familiarity
with the work of earlier
Greek philosophers.
Heraclitus and Parmenides
are thought to have been
particularly influential in his education. During the Peloponnesian
War, he fought in several battles and received commendation for
his actions.
By 423 BCE, Socrates was well-known in Athens, not so much
for military distinction as for his non-traditional teaching
methods. He did not keep a formal school, nor did he charge for
his services. He was a popular guest at social gatherings, and could
often be seen arguing against illogical reasoning and prejudice
wherever people congregated. Socrates did not sympathize with
the ascetics -- he believed in enjoying life. He found fault with the
Sophists, contemporary teachers who were willing to argue either
side of any controversy and with whom he was often wrongly
associated. Socrates believed that truth, beauty, and justice have
objective content, and that we are born with an innate
understanding of their existence. He taught his students to use their
rational understanding to rediscover knowledge they already had.
He also believed that a moral life brought men happiness, and that
this morality was something that could be transmitted through
education. He himself was fond of claiming that he knew nothing,
which was his way of stating that he had no fixed doctrine.
Socrates alleged ignorance was called by the Greeks eironeia,
Socratic irony.
His willingness to criticize arguments that he found unsound,
regardless of subject, challenged and threatened some prominent
Athenians. Socrates made powerful political enemies when he
spoke against Athens' new democratic governmental system,
which he considered ineffectual and corrupt. During this time, the
Peloponnesian War dragged on, and the city of Athens suffered
plague, treason, and finally total defeat. Socrates and his
outspoken opinions became increasingly aggravating to the ruling
elite. It was thought that his influence over the youth of Athens
was dangerous, particularly his association with Critias, a former
student and a powerful figure in the Rule of Thirty, a tyrannic
government that came to power in Athens after the period of
political flux in the aftermath of the Peloponnesian War.
While some of the members of this oligarchy had indeed been
followers of Socrates, Socrates remained an outspoken critic of the
new government. When the Democrats regained power, however,
Socrates' association with the oligarchy, particularly with Critias
and Alcibiades, gave his enemies reason to bring him to trial. He
was charged with corrupting the youth of Athens and with impiety.
Despite his eloquent defense, Socrates was found guilty and
sentenced to death. Plato records Socrates's last month of life in
jail in the Apology, the Phaedo, and the Crito. Socrates remained
staunchly true to his beliefs, refused to recant any of his
statements, and also refused to accept exile over death. He took a
cup of hemlock surrounded by his friends, and, comforting them,
drank the poison that would end his life.
Socrates is considered to be among the most influential Western
philosophers. Although he never wrote a word himself, the many
works of his student, Plato, provides a window into Socratic
philosophy. His major contribution to the study of philosophy was
to redirect inquiries away from the natural sciences and toward the
contemplation of systems of ethics and questions of ethical
conduct.
Plato (c. 427-347 BCE)
Plato was Socrates' student and one
of the most influential philosophers
in Western civilization. Born to a
politically active and wealthy noble
Athenian family, (Plato's mother
was descended from Solon, the
famous lawgiver credited with
major democratic reforms that
paved the way for Athen's Golden
Age) Plato grew up during the
Peloponnesian War (431-404 BCE), a
conflict that arose among Athens,
Sparta, and their allies. This civil war
was the beginning of the end of the
Athenian Golden Age, and created
an opening for later conquest by Philip of Macedon. The principles of
democracy in Athens were lost, as was much of the cultural wealth of
both city states.
During this general shift away from democracy, Plato was a young man,
and probably served in the military around 409-404 BCE. The Rule of the
Thirty, a period of tyrannical government, replaced the last vestiges of
democracy before Plato reached adulthood. Though Sparta emerged
victorious in battle, the balance of power between the two city states
remained uncertain, with neither state gaining a clear economic or
political advantage.
His relatives Critias and Charmides introduced Plato to Socrates and his
radical and vibrant philosophical group. Socrates became Plato's
teacher from 469-399 BCE. Plato was deeply influenced by Socrates'
emphasis on ethics and politics, and would later commemorate
Socrates as the wise and central speaker in his philosophical
writings.When Athens lost the Peloponnesian War, Critias and
Charmides, the same relatives who had established Plato in Athens,
became part of the despotic Rule of Thirty, also known as the Thirty
Tyrants. When the government of the Rule of Thirty crumbled in 403
BCE, Critias and Charmides were executed. Socrates was then put to
death in 399 BCE, not by the Rule of Thirty, but by the newly reinstated
and corrupt Athenian democratic system. Plato gave up all political
aspirations after this tragedy, and pursued instead a career of travel
and philosophy.
He travelled to the Greek city of Syracuse in Sicily around 387 BCE, ruled
by the despotic Dionysius, where he tutored and befriended Dion, a
relative of the king. During his journeying in Italy Plato encountered
followers of Pythagoras, an early philosopher whose views on the soul
and the afterlife seem to have greatly influenced Plato. Plato would also
have been intrigued by tales of a Pythagorean class of philosopherelites who had ruled over some of the Greek cities in Italy, an idea that
would resurface in his Republic . Plato's visit to Syracuse, however,
ended abruptly -- one legend suggests that Dionysius was annoyed by
Plato's critical comments and tried to sell him as a slave -- and Plato
came back to Athens in 386 BCE to found his school in a place dedicated
to Academus, a mythical hero. The Academy among the first organized
institutions of higher education in the Western world.
He remained at the Academy for the next twenty years until drawn
away from his work there in 367 BCE by a request from Dion, his old
friend from Syracuse, to return to Sicily. Plato probably made the
voyage with the expectation that he could be instrumental in forming a
new state in Syracuse, one dedicated to philosophical ideals. In 361
BCE, however, he returned to Athens, feeling that Sicily's problems
were too great for one man to overcome. His return to Athens was
marked by the arrival of a brilliant student to the Academy named
Aristotle, whom Plato taught for the next twenty years until his death in
347 BCE, according to legend, with his pen still in his hand.
Plato composed over twenty dialogues, (the dialogue itself was
then a revolutionary prose form) as well as a series of
philosophical letters. Although most of the letters are thought to be
forged, the "Seventh Letter" contains information about Plato's life
that most scholars believe to be accurate. Almost all of Plato's
works were lost during the Middle Ages, except for the first third
of the Timaeus. His writings were not recovered until the
fourteenth and fifteenth centuries, when Italian humanists
gradually rediscovered and translated his works into Latin. From
this point forward, Plato's texts, and his magnum opus The
Republic , in particular, have had an impact on European history
second only to the works of Aristotle. Particularly influential was
his theory of Forms, in which Plato suggested that the reality of
corporeal and materials things is based on a metaphysical reality of
ideas that exists in an eternal world of Forms. Plato's idea of a an
absolute Form of the Good was close to the Christian monotheistic
God; Neoplatonism in the Christianizing Roman Empire (100-400
CE) revived Plato as an early precursor of Christian doctrine.
Aristotle (c. 384-322 BCE)
Aristotle, or Aristoteles, (c.384-322
BCE) was born in Stagirus in the
Greek colony of Chalcidice, which
lies to the north of Greece near
Macedon. Aristotle was never an
Athenian citizen, despite having
spent most of his life in Athens.
Nicomachus, Aristotle's father,
was court physician to King
Amyntas III of Macedon.
Aristotle came to Athens to study
and joined Plato's Academy in 367
BCE. Aristotle became Plato's best
student and was generally felt to
be Plato's successor. He remained at the Academy until Plato's death in
347 BCE, when, bypassed in the election of the Academy's next
president, Aristotle left Athens with a few students and friends.
He journeyed to the eastern Mediterranean and Asia Minor, where he
established a school at Assos at the behest of the ruling Persian vassal,
Hermias. Aristotle married Pythias, Hermia's adopted daughter. When
Hermias fell out of favor with the Persian authorities and was executed,
Aristotle and his followers fled to the Greek island of Lesbos. Here,
Aristotle met Theophrastus, his successor. It was also at Lesbos that
Aristotle made some of his most famous zoological observations and
marine experiments in biology. In 343 BCE, Aristotle returned to
Macedon at the invitation of King Philip.For three years he became the
tutor of the adolescent Alexander the Great.
Aristotle returned to Athens to found his own school, the Lyceum, in
355 BCE, after Alexander had assumed the throne. The Lyceum had a
special status. Alexander had made a large donation to his former
tutor's new enterprise, and additionally the Lyceum was under
Macedonian protection. At the Lyceum, Aristotle had the freedom to
pursue a vast number of scientific and philosophic interests. He
developed a course of study that in many ways resembles the modern
Western university system. In fact, many of Aristotle's surviving works
were probably intended as notes for his advanced courses. He also gave
lectures to the general public. His philosophical school was known as
"Peripatetic," either because Aristotle had a habit of walking around
while addressing his audience, or because the roofed courtyard at the
Lyceum was called a peripatos .
Aristotle's good years in Athens did not last. Alexander died during his
great Eastern campaign in 323 BCE, and the withdrawal of Macedonian
power and protection from Aristotle's Athenian school gave his enemies
the opportunity to charge him with impiety. Aristotle fled to Chalcis,
explaining, according to legend, that he would not give the Athenians a
chance to commit another sin against philosophy (referring to the
execution of Socrates on a similar charge in 399 BCE). He died the
following year at the age of sixty-two.
Despite the fact that only around thirty Aristotelean treatises remained
extant, Aristotle's work has directed academic pursuits in the West
since the middle ages. Among his most influential works are Politics,
Physics, Metaphysics, Generation of Animals , History of Animals,
Nicomachean Ethics (named after his son, Nicomachus, who is thought
to have edited his father's work), Rhetoric , Poetics , On the Heavens,
Meteorology, and Prior Analytics . Aristotle's work might be viewed as
an attempt to reconcile naturalism, as posited by the pre-Socratics, with
the metaphysical world described by his teacher, Plato.Ultimately,
Aristotle would repudiate Plato's metaphysical understanding of the
world. Aristotle preferred (and indeed developed) the processes of
scientific observation and experimentation in the material world. He is
credited with establishing systems and categories of scholarly research
that have survived to the present day. Aristotle's work has been critical
in the development of much of Western philosophic thought through to
the nineteenth century.